They tell us that most complaints with brokers and mortgage lenders have to do with “transaction management”, while complaints against appraisers are usually about value. Here are the most frequent complaints about brokers:

1. Practicing with an expired or inactive license. You must have an active real estate license to perform the duties for which a license is required.
2. Dates and deadlines. We receive numerous complaints about real estate brokers missing deadlines and we have seen an increase in the number of complaints that involve the loss of earnest money.
3. Failure to disclose adverse material facts. Unfortunately, this is not a new type of complaint and substantiated violations of this law do not bode well for one’s license. Disclose, disclose, disclose.
4. Failure to provide your clients with executed copies of the contract documents and to keep them appraised of the transaction. We receive a lot of telephone calls and complaints from consumers who are in the process of buying or selling real property and they are oblivious to what is actually occurring in their transactions. Whether the real estate broker is a single agent or transaction broker, keeping the client informed is part of exercising reasonable skill and care.

The CREC is charged with protecting the public, and what they’re doing is asking brokers to pay more attention to these details. And remember, you’re vicariously liable for the actions of your agent. As a consumer you can be forewarned by this: disclose fully what you know about the condition of the property (and make sure it’s in writing); make sure you pay attention to deadlines and understand what each one means; get copies of all documents and discuss with your agent; stay in touch with your broker — take the initiative if they’re not calling you often enough.